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Palak: 2 million IT jobs will be created by 2021

The government will create employment opportunities in the IT sector for two million youths by 2021, State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak said on Thursday.
Speaking as chief guest at a day-long job fair organised at Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park in Jessore, he said the youths of Bangladesh can achieve any goal when properly motivated.
“The government is building IT parks and IT villages across the country to turn the population into a human resource,” Palak said.
“It takes a visionary leader to take the country forward, and Prime Minister Minister Sheikh Hasina had proven her capabilities as a visionary leader.”
Palak said the then BNP government had “made a grave mistake” by not allowing the free submarine cable connection in 1992 over excuses of data trafficking.
“If the then government had allowed the connection, Bangladeshi youths could have achieved the same level of success in the IT sector as in Bangalore and Hyderabad in India,” he said.
Speaking as the special guest at the programme, Jessore 3 lawmaker Kazi Nabil Ahmed highlighted the examples of tech giants such as Microsoft and IBM.
“They were started by young men from their bedrooms and garages. Only 18-20 years old at that time, they dared to dream big and now own the top five IT companies in the world,” he said.
He further said the young people of Bangladesh were “energetic and talented”, and that the government was only giving them platforms on which to achieve their dreams.
“The Digital Bangladesh initiative is moving forward. We will succeed in the sector, just like the Silicon Valley in Bangalore. These initiatives will bring us financial freedom,” he said.
Nabil also thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy for building the software technology park in Jessore.
Project Director Jahangir Alam said 31 firms participated in the job fair, and it was attended by more than 20,000 young men and women. “Thousands of CVs have been submitted for the jobs,” he said.
Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Managing Director Hosne Ara Begum presided over the inauguration programme.
Other attendees included Jessore Science and Technology University VC Prof Anwar Hossain, Jessore Govt MM College Principal Prof Mizanur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner of Jessore Md Ashraf Uddin, and Basis President Mustafa Jabbar.
State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and MP Kazi Nabil also planted trees to mark the occasion.